BB aged Imperial Stout w a "best by"?

I received a bottle of Bourbon Barrel aged Dark Hollow that has "best by March 2013" on the cork.
WTF?! Since when do aged Imperial Stouts have a "best by"? It's usually a "best after".
The beer looks nice but what's up w the short best by?
Thoughts, input and two cents are appreciated.

The brewery probably thinks the beer will be best if drank by March of 2013. The beer will certainly be drinkable after but the brewer does not believe any additional time will provide any benefit. Just because it is an Imperial Stout does not mean age will improve the beer. I wish more breweries would put a best by date on their big beers, it may help clear up some of the cellaring misconceptions that are out there.

Just because it is an Imperial Stout does not mean age will improve the beer. I wish more breweries would put a best by date on their big beers, it may help clear up some of the cellaring misconceptions that are out there.

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It so refreshing to see someone say this. These misconceptions are well out of control, from people cellaring beers they havent tried, to spendng wads on cases of imperials in fear of not having enough

The bottle also states that extended cellaring is possible, but drink by the date stamped on cork for peak flavor. Had on tap and is a great beer, the one bottle I have is going to sit for a bit though to see how it changes. Drink it now or sit on it for a while. Don't think you'll be upset either way.

Weyerbacher Heresy also has this... Usually released in January or February and the best by date is August of the same year. I can kinda see why with that beer, as it's on the thin side for a BBA stout, but still. Some breweries feel it's best by a particular time. FWIW IMO, after you buy it, it's your beer. Do as you please with it.

It probably means the cork will turn to shit after that date. Drink up or else you'll have doodie residue on your impy stout.

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This is the only thing that makes sense to me. The drinker may prefer the aged BBA stout taste opposed to fresh (if capped). IMO it varies with each BA stout and we don't all agree on which ones are best fresher.
"Best By" should be left up to the BA.

I agree with Kzoobrew, but in this particular case they used the same batch of dated corks for multiple batches of the beer dating from march 12 to at least some point in the fall of 12 - confusing, I know. that said, this was the first beers from their new Barrel House where they completely changed the brewing process of the beers made there, switching to a partigyle process. the brewer (a old veteran from Goose Island many years ago) may feel that this new process does not age as gracefully long term as his prior process. I couldn't tell you.... yet.

The brewery probably thinks the beer will be best if drank by March of 2013. The beer will certainly be drinkable after but the brewer does not believe any additional time will provide any benefit. Just because it is an Imperial Stout does not mean age will improve the beer. I wish more breweries would put a best by date on their big beers, it may help clear up some of the cellaring misconceptions that are out there.

I received a bottle of Bourbon Barrel aged Dark Hollow that has "best by March 2013" on the cork.
WTF?! Since when do aged Imperial Stouts have a "best by"? It's usually a "best after".
The beer looks nice but what's up w the short best by?
Thoughts, input and two cents are appreciated.

The bottle also states that extended cellaring is possible, but drink by the date stamped on cork for peak flavor. Had on tap and is a great beer, the one bottle I have is going to sit for a bit though to see how it changes. Drink it now or sit on it for a while. Don't think you'll be upset either way.

The brewery probably thinks the beer will be best if drank by March of 2013. The beer will certainly be drinkable after but the brewer does not believe any additional time will provide any benefit. Just because it is an Imperial Stout does not mean age will improve the beer. I wish more breweries would put a best by date on their big beers, it may help clear up some of the cellaring misconceptions that are out there.

Click to expand...

new'ish guy question here: how can a brewer know a "best by" date on something like this if the actual "best by" date is, say, 3 years down the road?

unless they brewed it several years ago and sampled it along the way.. wouldn't a "best by" dating system be speculation?

qualifiers: at least for new breweries OR new recipes OR beers that may have a long shelf life

The brewery probably thinks the beer will be best if drank by March of 2013. The beer will certainly be drinkable after but the brewer does not believe any additional time will provide any benefit. Just because it is an Imperial Stout does not mean age will improve the beer. I wish more breweries would put a best by date on their big beers, it may help clear up some of the cellaring misconceptions that are out there.

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you mean...that we aren't...suppose to age everything ... forever?!!1 and,

you mean..that a brewer wants his/her beer drunk in a timely matter....where the taste is how he/she had intended it?!!!1

new'ish guy question here: how can a brewer know a "best by" date on something like this if the actual "best by" date is, say, 3 years down the road?

unless they brewed it several years ago and sampled it along the way.. wouldn't a "best by" dating system be speculation?

qualifiers: at least for new breweries OR new recipes OR beers that may have a long shelf life

Click to expand...

The brewer doesn't know for certain but rather is able to make an educated guess based on knowledge of the style, brewing technique, ingredients, and the track record for other comparable beers. So prior experience comes into play, both for the beers of others and the beers made by the brewery that is giving us the best by. Rocherfort 10 has a best by date 5 years after the bottling date, but people in the cellaring forum and else where report aging it for 10 years or more and still enjoying it.

I received a bottle of Bourbon Barrel aged Dark Hollow that has "best by March 2013" on the cork.
WTF?! Since when do aged Imperial Stouts have a "best by"? It's usually a "best after".
The beer looks nice but what's up w the short best by?
Thoughts, input and two cents are appreciated.

Click to expand...

Send your bottle to me, I will gladly drink it after the "best by" date...for science.

The brewer doesn't know for certain but rather is able to make an educated guess based on knowledge of the style, brewing technique, ingredients, and the track record for other comparable beers. So prior experience comes into play, both for the beers of others and the beers made by the brewery that is giving us the best by. Rocherfort 10 has a best by date 5 years after the bottling date, but people in the cellaring forum and else where report aging it for 10 years or more and still enjoying it.

One thing I left out is that some breweries do in fact keep bottled or kegged versions of their beer in storage for several years so that they can taste and re-evaluate the best by date they are using (If they stay in business long enough.. ).

Sometimes i also think more breweries are doing this to protect themselves from having to refund infected beer down the road, too. There are just too many variables with barrel aging for them to be able to guarantee every beer well after what they consider the beer ready to drink.

Barrel aged stouts are generally not a great style to age. There are some exceptions, but this style has already been "pre-aged" for you with its time in the barrel. They will hold up for a while, but most of them aren't getting much better.

It so refreshing to see someone say this. These misconceptions are well out of control, from people cellaring beers they havent tried, to spendng wads on cases of imperials in fear of not having enough

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You have just been mayored. How do you feel. Its awe-inspiring the 1st time isnt it.

Barrel aged stouts are generally not a great style to age. There are some exceptions, but this style has already been "pre-aged" for you with its time in the barrel. They will hold up for a while, but most of them aren't getting much better.

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Agreed. Unless the beer is overwhelmingly hot/boozy- at which point a few months usually knocks it out- drink 'em when you buy 'em.

A bit of an extreme exaggeration obviously, but I think people are more in love with the concept of cellaring (collecting) than they are with the end results. You can see it in all those youtube videos people post of their beer cellars - at least half the stuff in there will taste better fresh, people just want to show off their whales. The best beers to cellar are usually the most simple run of the mill stuff you can easily purchase by the case (Bigfoot, Brooklyn BCS, Van de Keizer Blauw, etc).

The beer looks nice but what's up w the short best by?
Thoughts, input and two cents are appreciated.

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first off, consider something - they made the beer, you didn't. maybe they know something you don't?

second, bourbon influence, like coffee, hops etc. fades with time. if the influence in said beer is weak, (perhaps they flash aged it a very short period in bourbon barrels) or the barrels used are worn whereas they don't have a lot of influence left to give - it makes sense they put a quick turnaround on it. opposite angle would be perhaps they aged it extensively in barrels & feel like much more age will expose a decline. like i was saying, perhaps the brewer knows something you don't?

third, the literature is merely a suggestion. it's nice that they offered one. you're free to ignore it. i have done so with many beers not necessarily doing so belligerently but through inability or lack of desire to complete the tasks timely.